We are overwhelmed with content.

People watching video content comprises more than a third of all online activity. By 2020 it’ll be more than half.

With companies fighting to win the most eyeballs, commercials and video content have become increasingly fast-paced and dramatic.

Psychologist James Cutting has been researching the ways people perceive motion picture for several decades.

What he has found is that people’s ability to perceive visual information has greatly increased.

Not only that, but an expectation of most audience members today is that of a fast, moving image, rather than a static distant one.

How dramatically have things changed?

Take this commercial for Mercedes Benz from 1990

The shots hold long (the opening shot lasts a full 10 seconds) with tranquil rhythmic music as a calming background.

An older English narrator describes the car in the same tone as David Attenborough describing lions.

The camera moves in only a handful of shots, and no hero character is visible. The only focus is the car itself.

Now…

Take a look at this recent Mercedes Benz commercial for comparison.

The first shot doesn’t even last a full second. We’re already rushing, racing through the video.

The camera always moves, not a single shot is static.

The growth of rapid, fast cutting, constant camera movement is evident. The question becomes, at what point does content become too intense for a viewer to take?

Screentide’s example

For our recent OnePath commercial we used a technique known as split screen to create a sense of energy, without overwhelming the audience.

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This technique is often labelled as “distracting” and “incoherent” and we understood it would be a challenge from a filmmaking perspective.

The reason split screen is usually considered distracting is because… well it is distracting. Your eyes are forced to race around the screen to catch all the information.

This commercial is all about the feeling of life overwhelming us. So we let the audience feel that intensity as well.

The key to making sure it didn’t become too overwhelming was to rely on a few simple techniques…

1) The focus on story.

Our director wanted to create a sense of people who are connected, even in their seperate lives. The multiple screens allowed this.

Even so, he knew that an audience will always find it easier to follow a story if they have a central personality to focus on.

It’s why those All Spice commercials are so memorable. And with a commercial as fast paced as this one, it’s even more important.

That’s why through the video we always come back to our hero character, to ground us in the situation.

2) Cutting on the beat.

Every single motion and movement is cut on the beat. The alarms being switched off happens in perfect sync, the blinds opening happens on the beat.

Rather than the two commercial’s above, the music is actively driving the edit. While this could make the editor’s job less interesting, you’ll notice it actually makes the project more complicated.

Multiple screens are happening at once, so the editor needs to make sure each of those cues is not only on beat, but isn’t clashing with another screen.

This leads into another important discovery

3) Less movement, faster edit.

A key creative decision was to have the camera only move when our hero moves. Even though the camera is handheld at times, having our character leading the movement helps the eye adjust.

But at the end of the day the main thing to remember is that every job is different, this technique worked for this video but it wouldn’t for many others.

The important thing is to know when a technique will work to help you tell a story.

Screentide is a video production agency based in Fox Studios, Sydney. If you have an idea for a video, get in touch via [email protected].

2019 audiences are more digitally connected than ever. Children through to baby boomers are using technology in unprecedented numbers, with over 2.5 billion global smart phone users (and that number is expected to blow past the 5 billion mark by next year).

In response, digital advertising is becoming more and more invasive.

As marketing becomes more interruptive, audiences become not only more switched-on, but also more resentful of forced advertising. YouTube pre-roll has progressed to FaceBook in-stream. Every other ‘Social Influencer’ is spruiking teeth whitener. And as for native advertising/advertorial, a 2014 study found that two-thirds of users have felt deceived upon realising that an article or video was sponsored by a brand, and 54 percent of users don’t trust sponsored content.

Most ad content isn’t as sneaky nor subtle as it thinks it is, and the brands pay the price in lost credibility.

So in a time when cutting through the noise also means leaving a bitter taste in the mouth of your market, what’s a brand to do?

Introducing gifted content. If you’re not already familiar with the concept, you’ve surely noticed that every food industry retailer from here to Timbuktu has jumped on the magic-hands cooking video bandwagon. The idea is simple – give your audiences something they WANT to put their eyes on, whether it’s a recipe, a tutorial or a how-to video, the options are endless. So you’re a dog food company? Make a montage of cute puppy moments caught on video, and slap your logo and website on the end of it. You make garbage compactors? Top ten trashiest characters in film, brought to you by… You catch our drift.

Start being the shareable content, rather than interrupting it; your audiences will appreciate it, and the results will speak for themselves.

Screentide is a video production agency based in Fox Studios, Sydney. We love creating content, especially gifted and unique content. If you have an idea for a video, get in touch via [email protected].

Putting Humour and Humanity Back Into Modern Technology

It’s mid-way through 2017. As we grow closer to our robot overlords taking over deeper into the information age, the technological rat race feels more pervasive than ever.

Every day there’s new technology on the market, and every new product is faster and more capable than the last (vibrating yoga pants anyone?*).

THE CHALLENGE

Last year, we were approached by H Butler to create a campaign for their product Orbit – a device which helps you find your keys with your phone and vice versa (you don’t need to be a parent or a boozer to know how handy that can be). Key objectives were brand awareness and lead generation.

Naturally we were incredibly excited to be working with an Australian startup company, but our first challenge quickly became apparent: how do we make the Orbit stand out in a sea of upcoming Bluetooth technology?

THE BRAINSTORM

Concept and creative development are key in any campaign. We researched competitor products and their accompanying media; we watched ads, instructionals, kickstarter videos and more, and were decidedly underwhelmed.

It became clear that in order to stand out from overseas competitors who focus on their device’s functionality we had to humanize the product.

fMRI neuro-imagery shows that when evaluating brands, consumers primarily use emotions (personal feelings and experiences) rather than information (brand attributes, features, and facts). Furthermore, advertising research reveals that emotional response to an ad has far greater influence on a consumer’s reported intent to buy than the ad’s content. (Damasio, 1995)

A recent survey from Adobe and Edelman Berland also reported that 79% of respondents preferred humorous ads over any other type.*

Although humour and likeability in advertising might seem obvious, technology advertising overwhelmingly focuses on sleek, polished and high-functioning capability. So we decided to shake things up.

The Screentide creative team put their heads down and devised a number of creative themes ranging from family morning pandemonium, disposophobia (fear of losing things), right through to a cheeky 007 nod. The common denominator emerged, contained in every creative option: an everyday, relatable human story, which naturally transcends cultures and borders. Our client then picked a favourite, and pre-production went into full swing.

THE IDEA

We open on an enormous pregnant belly. We cut to the poised husband, who is putting the final items into a hospital bag and sipping a piccolo. He seemingly couldn’t be more ready for the beauty of childbirth… until it happens. Contractions start. Wife is groaning. Husband can’t find his phone to call the hospital. The shit has hit the fan. Cue Orbit, who rides in on a shiny waterproof aluminium horse and saves the day. More hilarity ensues, but let’s not give it all away.

The comic farce provided us with an opportunity to underscore the product benefit in a humorous way. After all, is there a worse time one could lose their phone and keys?

Above and beyond simply listing the features of the device, we put a real, human face on the campaign, and put those faces into a chaotic situation many are already familiar with.

THE LEGWORK

Two brilliant actors, one silicone pregnant belly, and many hours of work from the Screentide team brought this concept to life.

We nailed the shoot in one day, despite car troubles, unprecedented roadworks, and working with a hungry toddler.

THE RESULTS

We had a lot of fun working on this project. The final result gives the viewer an insight into the product’s utility, while the actors and timing of our talented editor provide the comedy. Does it stand out? We think so, and our robot overlords agree.

Screentide Creative Content is a video production agency based in Fox Studios, Sydney. We love telling stories, especially when there’s a challenge involved. If you have a story to tell or a message to send, get in touch via [email protected].

*http://wearableexperiments.com/nadix/

*Damasio, A. (1995), Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain, New York: Penguin Books

*https://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pdfs/Click_Here_Country_Comparisons.pdf

We’re very serious filmmakers making a very serious series with the seriously talented James Mathison, watch this space…

Is the modern smartphone taking over the world,
and what does it mean for video industry professionals?

Welcome to 2016, the one we will forever remember as the year Donald Trump ran for president.

Technologically speaking, we now have needle-free insulin patches, Wi-Fi-enabled footpaths, and yet still not one hover board.

THE UNPRECEDENTED ERA

We’re in an unprecedented era of information accessibility and oversaturated media content platforms, so what does this mean for those who have spent their lives in the industry?

Let’s look at smartphones. Every man and his dog now own one. It’s easier than ever to capture moments; there are even companies who specialize in camera lens kits for smartphones.

There are film festivals, such as the Toronto Smartphone Film Festival, dedicated to smartphone films and photography. There are feature length smartphone films (Tangerine, 2015). Even the man Robert Rodriguez himself was paid to create an 11-minute short on a BlackBerry 10.

While this is incredible for history’s sake (millions around the world experienced the horror of 9/11 with the help of spectators and camera phones), it can be concerning for filmmakers with professional rigs.

BECAUSE THEY KNOW BETTER

With the high-resolution filming capability available (4K in most new models), why wouldn’t companies simply begin shooting their own campaigns on their own devices?

Short answer: because they know better.

A high-pixel camera does not a good photographer make; a first year AFTRS student with an ARRI Alexa is not automatically going to transform into a cinematographer for the ages. On the flip side, a good DOP or photographer can make art with just about anything.

For example, check out Paranmanjang (Night Fishing), a 30 minute horror film shot on a iPhone 4 by South Korean director Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, 2003), which won Best Short at the 2011 Berlin International Film Festival.

Like putting Mark Webber in a Yaris, it’s all about who’s behind the wheel.

Additionally, for anyone unfamiliar with the process involved with any kind of video content it would be easy to underestimate the time required in pre-production, or the value of having a good creative team.

Crafting the look, feel and story of a video comes down to the people behind the lens. So whether it’s a Red Epic, a DSLR, an iPhone or your childhood polaroid, the difference between an average video and a great one is the people who plan it.

THE UNSEEN LEGWORK

Going beyond that, while having 4K on your smartphone is nice and all, anyone worth his salt knows that you’ll still need lighting, sound design, and a whole host of extras that, with a good production studio, you’ll never need to think about.

A client could spend time and money researching and hiring all of the additional elements, but without a solid director, producer and cinematographer the chances of producing good content are slim regardless.

In summary: just because you can, doesn’t mean you should (looking at you, Trump).

Video is arguably the most powerful marketing tool on the web (and without television imagine all those undiscovered amateur chefs, renovators, and farmers without wives).

The influence of video is undeniable; according to Dr. James McQuivey of Forrester Research the information retained in one minute worth of video is the equivalent of 1.8 million words (by his reasoning I could have summed this article up in a 0.00000494444 second video).

So as long as there are any kinds of marketplaces, consumers and clients, there will be a place in the world for video.

And while there’s nothing wrong with shooting on a smartphone, as long as there are companies who understand the value of high-quality, well-planned video content there will always be a place in the world for production companies and agencies, all the way down to camera operators.

Screentide Creative Content are a video production agency based in Fox Studios, Sydney. We love telling stories, regardless of the capturing method. If you have a story to tell or an idea to bring to life, get in touch via [email protected].

“If it’s not fun, why do it?” – Ben and Jerry.

We believe in thorough pre-production planning so that on shoot day we can get the job done efficiently and still have a good time doing it.

A candid shot of B-camera operator Matt Chow nailing a shot. We’re grateful to always have passionate crew.

Ambitious ideas. Early starts. Too much caffeine. Morning light. “Roll up.” Magic hour. Entire days planned down to the minute. Resets. Relocations. Pickups. Thinking on our feet. “Wrapping.”… Our crew live and breathe and thrive on set.